Incheon, South Korea - Incheon International Airport, one of South Korea's major aviation hubs, has witnessed a significant rebound in passenger numbers this year, approaching levels seen before the pandemic.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Data compiled by the transport ministry shows that during the first 11 months of 2023, 49.97 million travelers used Incheon International Airport, which is 77.9 percent of the 64.17 million passengers recorded during the same period in 2019. By the end of the year, approximately 56 million air passengers are expected to have traveled via the airport, amounting to a recovery of 78.6 percent of the 2019 figures. Incheon International Airport Corp. is forecasting a full-scale recovery in the coming year. Among other regional airports in South Korea, Cheongju International Airport in North Chungcheong Province reported the highest recovery rate at 89.3 percent, with 420,618 travelers in the Jan.-Nov. period. Meanwhile, the passenger volume at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul reached 73.9 percent of the 2019 level, with 2.88 million passengers as of November. A Korea Airport Corp. official noted that Gimpo airport's slower recovery is partly due to its dependence on China-bound routes, which have not yet fully recovered. The official expects the recovery level to rise to around 75 percent by the year's end.